Returning home
by violent.women66
Summary: Sasuke is where he belongs again, but at what cost. He has to try and fix all that he broke before it's too late, can he do or will he lose everything again? Complete for now but will add chapters at later date.
1. Discovered consequences

Sasuke had been back in Konoha now for almost two years, Naruto had reached deep inside his mind and heart and had drawn out all his anger and hate, but in the process had nearly killed himself, so Sasuke had carried him home. Upon his arrival at the new village gates he had been pounced on by ANBU. Naruto had been ripped from his arms which were then restrained in chakra restraints, not that it mattered, he had lost the anger he had come to rely on to fight.

He was then placed in a cell with no light or sound. His only human interaction was when his meals were delivered, even then only once did the deliverer ever speak and that was to say Naruto had lived. Eight months he had stayed in that prison and then with no reason why he was released, told he was not allowed to leave the village, or perform any jutsu, he had to be in the apartment he was supplied with by nightfall and was allowed out again at sunrise. If he broke these simple rules he would be placed back in his cell or killed outright.

He didn't care about the restrictions, all he wanted was to see the sun and Naruto again. When he was freed he spent all his time walking around the newly rebuilt village, most of the people didn't pay him any attention, unfortunately it was only a few hours after his release that his old fan club (All of which were now grown women) found him and started to demand he go out on a date with them because they still loved him. He was glad when he noticed that at least Sakura was no longer among them.

For over a year he had looked for Naruto in the street, he had asked so many people but had been told in no uncertain terms to leave the boy alone by most of them, only a couple still seemed to hold any hatred towards the young man.  
So Sasuke continued to wait and walk the village hoping to catch a glimpse of the one he sought. He never felt his chakra or caught sight of him so when he could take it no more Sasuke made his way to the Hokage tower.

He waited over an hour before he was let in to see her and even though he didn't expect a warm greeting the ice-cold glare he found himself on the receiving end of startled him. Stepping the rest of the way forward he asked "Where is he?"

Tsunade's look darkened even further, her tea-cup shattered in her hand "He? He? Do you mean Naruto? He is no longer your concern." She yelled her voice harsh and filled with hidden pain.

Taken aback Sasuke fought to keep his face neutral "I need to see him, to ask him... to ask him how and why?"

Emotion flashed quickly over Tsunade's face so quick that Sasuke didn't have time to interpret it before it was gone. "Get out of my office and do not ask about Naruto Uzamaki again."

Not wanting to anger the Hokage further Sasuke bowed and left without another word. He had almost made it out of the building when he was joined by a young man he had met only a few times before. This man was similar in looks except for the creepy smile and almost white completion, so much so that if people didn't know better they would say the two men might be related.  
After walking in silence Sasuke became curious of why he was being accompanied by a relative stranger so he finally spoke up "Why are you following me? Sai is it?"

"Yes my name is Sai, I worked with Naruto before you came back." The slim man answered with an even look.

"Well Sai that doesn't answer my first question." Sasuke snapped.

"That is easy I am following you home so that we can discuss our mutual friend. "Sai explained, his smile never once changing. Both men continued on in silence until they reached Sasuke's apartment. Once inside Sasuke spun on Sai gripping his small shirt in both hands "Where is he?"

Smiling again Sai stood not moving as he answered "At this moment I do not know, what I do know is that because of you he is in constant danger."

"Why?"

"My so many questions. One of the conditions of your survival is that Naruto must join the ANBU for as long as the Elders deemed fit." Hearing this Sasuke let go of the cloth in his hands "Also, because of you he is to give up his dream of becoming Hokage and must be simply a tool for the village."

Shaking badly Sasuke stepped back until his knees hit the bed which other than a desk and chair was his only furniture. "Why would he agree to this?"

"For you." Sai answered his voice full of venom. "And what's more the only people to see him now are hospital staff. It is like he has disappeared and with him the light of the village."

Sasuke lunged back to his feet "I need to see him, can you help me do that?"

"That is why I am here, in three nights time leave your window and door unlocked and lights off, don't have any weapons on you or near you at all. If you do he may forget why he came and kill you."

"He will come the?" hope dripped from Sasuke's lips.

"He may." with that Sai vanished in a puff of smoke.

In the time leading up to Naruto's visit Sasuke had gone over the main room and the small adjoining bathroom over a dozen times, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon, as he had been forbidden any real weapons when he was released from prison.  
The night had finally arrived for his visit and Sasuke had spent hours pacing his one room apartment before finally falling asleep near 3am. It was only a few minutes later that he jerked awake to the feeling of being watched. Looking around Sasuke saw a figure completely clothed in black emerge from the shadows, looking closer he believed the intruder to be a complete stranger until he lifted a hand pulling mask and head band off to reveal bright blue eyes and golden hair.

Sasuke's heart leapt then fell as the ANBU revealed the familiar features. His heart leapt at the sight of his old friend but fell at the sight of the once laughing blue eyes that were filled with sorrow and fatigue.

"You really are alive." Sasuke gasped fighting the urge to hug his old friend.

"Yes, now that you have seen me you can stop looking. I fulfilled my promise and still am fulfilling it. You are home again." Naruto's tone never changed as he spoke.

" But why? why did you give up your dream for me? You should have let them kill me, but you didn't." Desperate to get his point across Sasuke got up and went to move closer but stopped when the man before him reached for the katana strapped to his back.

"I begged for your life because I still needed my first friend by my side. Now I take every mission I can so I don't have to see you, so I don't have to see how far I have torn you down." Tears began to course down Naruto's scared cheeks as emotion finally reached his voice.

"Then stay. Stay with me, come back to the village and help me rebuild all that I have broken. You saved me, now let me save you." Sasuke tore forward headless of the danger he was putting himself in. "We can rebuild our fragile bonds and make them stronger."

"I can't, I am still ANBU now and will be until the Elders say otherwise." He stepped back as though to make his words hurt a little less.

"Then until you are released come to me between missions, stop volunteering for so many missions and we will fix each other."

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but stopped before he could speak. He turned his head listening to the radio still in his ear and after a few seconds said "I am needed, I will return here after my mission. I want to find us again."

"How long will you be gone?" Sasuke asked grabbing Naruto's hand in desperate need.

"I don't know, Leave your window unlocked at night and I will come to see you again." and with that Naruto vanished.

Six weeks Sasuke slept with his window unlocked. He only left his room when it was totally necessary, for fear of missing Naruto. It was on one of these trips to buy food that he received word about his absent friend.

Sasuke had almost reached the store closest to his apartment when Sakura ran up to him and grabbed his arm pulling him off in another direction. Sasuke was ready to turn down yet another offer of a date when Sakura finally spoke to him for the first time since his return. "I wouldn't even speak to you except my patients has asked to see you. So you WILL come with me and you WILL see him and say kind words. Got that?"

Sasuke was about to refuse her demand when he remembered what Sai had said about Naruto only ever being seen by hospital staff. So he instead caught up to Sakura and followed her through the streets hoping not to look to eager to reach his destination. After nearly ten minutes of fast walking they finally reached the hospital, however before they entered Sakura spun Sasuke to look directly at her "If you hurt him or say one mean thing, I will kill you. He is hurt and needs his rest."

"Fine, just tell me where he is."

Sakura looked skeptical but walked ahead anyway "He is in the restricted section, where we treat the active ANBU discreetly. I will have to take you to him and then escort you out again."

"Fine, just lead the way." Sasuke bit back trying to keep his expression bored.

Sasuke stopped in the door way of Naruto's room when he saw the other man covered with bandages and tubes going in and out of his arms and chest. "Naruto, what happened? Why aren't you healing as fast as you use to?"

Naruto's face flashed for a moment to what Sasuke remembered, full of life and joy, before it once again clouded over with pain and sadness. "You came. I'm glad."

"Of course I came. We never finished our conversation. Now tell me why you are not healing." Sasuke plead as he rushed forward.

"Well you see once I mastered the Kyuubi's power he stopped being able to heal my body, now I have to heal like everyone else." Naruto grinned broadly "Don't worry, I will be okay."

"I'm glad." Sasuke breathed out clutching at Naruto's free hand. "Why did you ask Sakura to bring me here?"

"Well that is easy, because I couldn't make it to your place. So we will have to start re-building right here."

Sasuke felt a rush of happiness that his only friend still wanted to be with him, even if it was at the hospital.


	2. Hospital visits

Both men spent the day talking over all they had done in the time apart. Sakura checked in on the two between her rounds to make sure Sasuke had taken her warning to heart. Mindful of his injured state every time Naruto drifted off to sleep Sasuke would sit by his side never releasing his hand and wait for him to wake up again to continue their conversation. The first couple of times that this happened Naruto became embarrassed and apologized profusely, causing Sasuke to remind him that sleep would help him heal faster and that it was natural.

It was the end of the day when Sakura came into the room again "I'm sorry to interrupt but it is time to go Sasuke and Naruto Lady Tsunade will be here soon to do the next part of your healing."

Sasuke's only response to her was a nod before he turned back to Naruto "I enjoyed today. If you don't mind I would like to come again tomorrow."

"I would like that." Naruto mumbled as he once again drifted off to sleep.

"He is better today. He didn't even try to escape once." Sakura stated as she and Sasuke walked down empty corridors.

"Hn, He wants me to return tomorrow." Sasuke said hoping that he wouldn't have to ask let alone beg.

Sakura took a moment before answering "I still haven't forgiven you for everything you have done, but for Naruto I am putting that to the side. As for tomorrow, it will depend on Naruto's condition after his healing session." Sasuke new that nothing he said would change her answer so he stayed silent. Even when they parted ways Sasuke kept silent as he left Sakura to return to her duties.

Eager to see Naruto again Sasuke returned to the hospital early the next day only to be turned away with no information. When this happened another two days he became worried that something had gone wrong. He had stayed all day on the third day in the waiting room, in the hope of seeing Sakura again and asking her what had happened.

He was about to leave for the night so as to make it home in time for his curfew when Sakura came out from the ward area. "Please I need to know, what happened? Is Naruto alright?"

"Walk with me, my shift finished and we live in the same area." Sakura offered as she shouldered her purse.

"Good I am suppose to be home soon anyway, now tell me what you know." Sasuke demanded as he followed the pink haired woman out of the hospital.

Sakura smiled slightly "He is going to make a full recovery, the last healing session took a lot out of him so he has been asleep this whole time. You know I shouldn't even be telling you this, the only reason I am, is that since Jiraya died he has no family left and none of his friends apart from us know where he is." Sakura looked up at the darkening sky with a small sad smile on her face. "Maybe you will be able to bring him back to us, the other day when you where at the hospital that was the most he has spoken in such a long time. I know this even though I only see him when he is injured."

The two continued to walk in silence for some time before Sasuke spoke up again, "Will I be able to see him again tomorrow?"

"Tsunade thinks he will be awake by morning and if he is I will send for you, but only if Naruto asks to see you again. Now good night Sasuke, try to get some rest, Naruto will need you at full strength." They had reached Sakura's apartment by this point so Sasuke bid her goodnight taking a moment to smell the fresh herbs that flavored the air. Looking up he smiled seeing them growing from the window ledge outside Sakura's window.

It was after 11am by the time he was summoned and it was by some woman who tried flirting as she delivered her message. Because he wasn't allowed to teleport as it was considered a jutsu, he was forced to listen the woman prattle on all the way to the hospital. He was thankful to see Sakura and Tsunade discussing the files in their hands near the entrance because as soon as his escort saw them she fled to return to her own duties. Seeing him standing to the side waiting for them to finish Tsunade pointed to him and beckoned him forward. "I will lead you to Naruto today. Try to keep him in bed until I return, it seems he is well enough to go home but I want him to finish the course of antibiotics which will only take about two hours." The two continued to walk in silence the whole way and only spoke again as they approached Naruto's door.

"I really do care about him you know. He fixed me and now I want to help fix him."

"I tell you what, if you can get him to go outside without a disguise and talk with his friends, I will have your restrictions lightened." Tsunade offered.

"That was the plan already, but I will take your offer for the lighter restrictions." He agreed before ducking into the door and closing it behind him.

"Naruto get back in bed." Sasuke ordered when the first thing he noticed was Naruto trying to sneak out the window. Once the blond was securely tucked into bed Sasuke re-attached the IV "You can't get out of here until this is all done."

Pouting like he did as a child Naruto settled deeper into the bed before he answering "I should be back on duty by now. I'm sure there are already missions with my name on them and that old bat won't sign me off to return to missions."

"Well maybe you should take this time off to go outside and catch up with friends or just eat ramen at Ichiruka's." Sasuke suggested as he very much wanted his friend to have a little of his normality back. However Naruto looked away to stare out the window he had just tried to flee out of.

"I can't go back out there as me anymore, with all the things I've done over the past two years how will I look them in the eyes again as myself?"

"They are ninja as well, even if they knew somehow, they would understand." Sasuke waited until Naruto looked him in the eye again "Plus I will be there with you the whole time. Now you still haven't told me how you beat me in that last fight."

Naruto seemed to turn shy in a blink of an eye "Well I'm not allowed to tell anyone, but what I can say on account of you were there, is that I asked Ino's dad teach me a few of his techniques that weren't restricted to his blood-line. I was able to dig around in your sub-conscious to find all the hate and pain you had bottled up since the death of your clan."

Sasuke sat shocked over what he had just heard, almost afraid of what he had to ask next "What did you do with it all?"

"Well you see it had to go somewhere so I took it into myself and from there I let it go. After that is was all gone." Naruto scratched his head feeling very nervous at his admission.

"You did all that for me?" Sasuke blinked back tears, deeply touched by his friends actions.

"Of course I did." Naruto grinned before turning the conversation towards lighter subjects.

Once Naruto was released from the hospital that afternoon Sasuke talked him into joining him for dinner at a small restaurant where he hoped the two would not see too many of Naruto's old friends. Of course once Sakura heard the two planning the outing she insisted that she join them. Sasuke was at first skeptical of her joining but by the end of the evening he was more than glad that she had joined them because while she kept the conversation light, she also turned away a few of Naruto's more energetic friends by promising them Naruto would meet with them when he was more well.

Returning to his apartment just before sundown Sasuke was surprised to find Tsunade sitting at his desk waiting for him. "You have done well Sasuke."

"Hn." was the reply she received as Sasuke sat on his bed waiting for her to get to the point of her visit.

"Fine I will get to the point. I was able to meet with the Elders to convince them to release Naruto from the ANBU. The best they would compromise is that he is to have a week off to finish healing then he is to serve for another two years, then they will release him. What I have come here to do is to ask is that you continue helping Naruto re-connect with this village, also that you protect him from the people who still hold a grudge against him for what is sealed inside his body."

Sasuke's only expression was his usual cocky smirk as he answered "I was going to anyway. It's not like I have anything to do until you trust me enough to take on missions again."

"Very well then I will leave you to rest. Just one final thing, while Naruto is home your curfew is lifted, however once he leaves the village on missions it is back in effect." Tsunade explained over her shoulder as she left.

With the help of first Sakura then Shikamaru, Sasuke was able to carefully have Naruto meet with more and more friends by seemingly accident. With most of the friends away on missions at different times, each gathering was kept small enough that Naruto was at ease but once the groups got larger or if one of Naruto's friends offered to spar the young blonde would start to become antsy and make a quick escape to calm down again.

By the end of the week Naruto was able to walk down the street without flinching every time he was touched by someone walking by. However when he failed to make it to lunch on his last day of leave Sasuke was forced to track him down. He found the other man sitting on his bed surrounded by weapons and scrolls, his mask sitting limply on his knee. The sad look on his face tore at Sasuke's healing heart. "What's wrong Naruto? You didn't come to lunch."

"Tomorrow I have to report for duty. What if everything we have done over the last week was for nothing and it all disappears?" Naruto asked as he ran a finger over his mask in an almost intimate gesture.

"It won't go away go away, I promise. I will be here every time you come home and it's only for two more years."

"I can't let it go away, I can't let you go away. No when I finally have my true friend back." Naruto's hand shot forward and clasped on to Sasuke's arm "Please, can you just stay with me for a little while?"

"Anything for you." It wasn't until Sasuke stepped closer that Naruto released his arm. The two made quick work of repacking Naruto's supplies into his vest before having a small lunch, neither man being hungry anymore. Once the plates had been cleared the two settled together on Naruto's bed holding each other against the pain in their hearts and comfortable in the silence that had settled over them. When Sasuke woke the next morning, realizing he had fallen asleep, he found himself alone in the bed with a small note where Naruto's head had been, it simply read '**I will come home**.'

AN: This is sort of a finish planing to add more chapters at a later date, but this seems like a good place to pause, with the promise of a better future.


End file.
